Hacked
by aweena
Summary: The investigation of multiple, gruesome axe murders puts both Ryan and Horatio in danger of being the next victims. Rated for violence, gore, and language. Please check it out, it's better than it sounds...I think.
1. Chapter 1

**That's right! I'm baaaaaaack! And I'm still torturing Ryan! Bwa ha ha ha! This story should go a little faster than my last, Douleur, if you want to check that one out, I'm done with that one, but this one is shorter...a LOT shorter. It's completely movie-set, so it shouldn't go too much into emotions and sanity like I usually do. I hope you like this! **

**"Hacked"**

**By: Aweena May Mylard**

The case was taking its toll. The case...the greedy fucking case, it took its toll and it took more. It took lives, it took sleep, it took happiness. And then when it was done with its torturing, that was when it took its toll.

Blood covered half the floor and most of the two far walls. This was his first horror case. He knew that every case was a horror case, but this was the Texas Chainsaw Massacre redone. But this time, it was the Florida Axe Massacre.

Ryan gave Calleigh a solemn look as she snapped two more photos of the mutilated bodies. He knelt down beside the woman and took a picture of her blouse before he pulled a bloody, crinkled paper from the pocket. Thirteen deaths in one week. Six that day, all in one spot. Ryan let the camera hang from his neck as he unfolded the paper.

"What do you got?" Calleigh asked.

"I don't know. Hopefully, something that will help us find out who's doing this," Ryan replied. It was hard to believe that the man had left next to no evidence at the crime scenes. But the team was determined to find something that would lead them to a suspect. Meanwhile, over a dozen people had been killed, and they all knew that more would come. Ryan tried to ignore that fact as he stared at a blank piece of paper. "Well...this is really going to help us," he said sarcastically.

"Bag it anyways," Calleigh told him. "Something has to come up, and when it does, we'll piece all of this together."

Ryan gave her a quick, hesitant - yet agreeable - glance, and forced a smile. He hoped to God she was right. He slid the paper into a baggie and tossed it into an envelope with the rest of the evidence.

"I need to get some air," Ryan announced. He could not breathe with decomposition and such a strong smell of blood in the air. He stood and looked apologetically towards Calleigh.

"It's okay; I'll handle the pictures and evidence. You wanna talk to the witnesses?" Calleigh said.

"Yeah. Cal, I'm sorry-"

"I've already said its okay. You never get used to it, and I know how hard it can be. It this your first?" she asked him.

"Yeah," he told her, trying to focus on the clean side of the room.

"Go ahead," she said sympathetically.

Ryan nodded and snapped his gloves off as he exited the room. Once he was outside, he located Frank and his group of witnesses. Three. Two teens who had found the bodies and an old woman who had heard noises throughout the night. None of the leads sounded promising. He sighed heavily and approached Frank, knowing that this was going to be a hell of a case.

**That's it for now, I'm sorry. More will be up soon, though, I promise. Please stay with me. If you read my last story, you'll know that things pick up. Actually, my last story picked up in the first ten words, but I'm going at this one from a different position.**


	2. Chapter 2

**And now I'm back...from outerspace! Gee golly, peeps, I surely hope you enjoy the words I've given you. Which actually means, Damn it, you'd better be thankful I'm posting another chapter! Just kidding. Anyways, here's chapter two, things are taking some time, but I'm getting back into the driver's seat.**

**Chapter 2**

There was something about that paper. It was just an ordinary, blank piece of paper in the victim's pocket. What could be so special about that? But there was something, and that something nagged at the back of his mind as Ryan headed toward the AV lab.

"Natalia," he said as he entered the room. "Do you have anything...for...me..." His voice trailed off as he saw the look on Natalia's face. "Are you okay?"

She did not answer him as her gaze roamed to meet his, and Ryan saw something in her eyes that scared him.

"Natalia, what is it?" he said, a little more forcefully this time, but still gentle. She was scaring him.

"He's going after Horatio...Ryan, the killer-he said Horatio's next," Natalia explained.

"What do you mean? How do you know that?" Ryan said.

"The...paper," Natalia said. She moved the computer screen so it was facing Ryan. "I checked it out with a black light, among other things. The killer used invisible ink."

Ryan read the paper's contents and understood why Natalia was freaked. "'Caine, you're next. I always save the best for last.' Jesus. Have you called him, yet?"

"No, but I was just going to," Natalia answered.

"All right. You do that, and I'm gonna get back to the crime scene. Calleigh and Frank are still there. Hopefully, they'll have something. Call me when you get a hold of him," Ryan said, and received a nod.

He turned on his heel and left the building. Ryan pulled out his cell and hit the three on speed dial. "Calleigh? I'm on my way to the scene. You and Frank are still there, right?" he asked.

"Yeah, I'm still processing the scene, but Alex has the victims. What do you need?" Calleigh said.

"Natalia found writing on the paper I pulled from one of the vics, and it says H's next. She's trying to get a hold of him. How are you coming on your end?" Ryan asked her.

"Nothing's changed since you left, Ryan. Just blood, the vics' prints, but other than that..."

"Listen, Cal, I really am sorry for leaving like that earlier. I'm on my way, now, though. I'll...try to help as much as I can," he said apologetically.

"Ryan, it's all right. I understand how gruesome it is. Just...when you get here, try to get around Frank. And if you hear about Horatio on the way here-"

"I will definitely let you know," Ryan finished. "I'll see you in a bit."

"Bye," she replied.

Ryan tossed his phone on the Hummer's dash and concentrated on the drive ahead, which, thankfully, did not last long; he made it back to the scene within twenty minutes.

Once inside, he took Calleigh's advice and skirted the dining hall which was occupied by Frank. He made it up the stairs without confrontation, and reentered the horrific nightmare of the crime scene. The bodies may have been removed, but there were still outlines of blood where they once resided.

"Calleigh," Ryan said, making himself apparent.

"Ryan, I didn't even hear you," Calleigh said.

"They've got carpet all through the house, I didn't even hear myself. It's no wonder how the killer managed to force his way in here without much of a hassle...they didn't even know what was coming," Ryan said quietly.

"Have you heard-"

"Not yet," Ryan sighed. He was also beginning to worry. He just hoped that the killer had not been serious about the threat...or at least would wait a few days before he tried to go through with it, but both he and Calleigh knew that there would be no such luck. That would have given them time to at least process everything. One week and thirteen bodies were not sitting well for any of them. "Cal, I'll take care of this."

"No, Ryan, it's okay, really," Cal said, giving him a sad smile.

"I'll be doing what I'm supposed to be doing. Plus, it will make up for busting out on you this morning," Ryan said. "I want to do this, Cal. Go take a break."

Calleigh said, then gave Ryan another smile, but this time, it was more whole-hearted. "Thanks, Ryan. I'll be downstairs if you need me." She snapped off her gloves and set them in her kit, then passed Ryan and left the room.

Ryan stood there alone in the middle of the room where the horrorfest had gone on. He did not know how any human could take a life in this way, let alone thirteen. "Damn it!" Ryan said, covering his eyes with his hand. He had left his phone out on his dash. Natalia could have called by now, and he would not have even known. He let out a breath and headed to the door. He did not hear the carpet-cushioned footsteps behind him.

**Oh my God, that sucked. I couldn't have made a better cliffhanger for you guys, I'm so sorry. That one wasn't as good as mine usually are, but read it anyways. Or else! So, PLEASE REVIEW, and Happy New Year to you all, don't forget your resolutions, share them with me, if you'd like...I NEED SOME RESOLUTION IDEAS! I've got a few, but they're the usual "lose weight, be yourself" kind of things. I do have one different one on my list, though. MAKE A MUSIC VIDEO. Oh, yeah. Bie:0D**


	3. Chapter 3

**Thank you for the few reviews I've gotten...as I've said in my previous stories, if I know that at least one person out there is reading it, then I will continue to post. It may be a bit slow, but I'll get there...here's the next chapter!**

**Chapter 3**

A shadow flickered in the dim light of the room as Ryan stood in the doorway. He normally would have passed it off as a bad bulb, but the circumstances were far from normal. Six people had died a horrific death in that house, and a sick feeling developed in the pit of Ryan's stomach as he slowly turned to face the room.

The light glinted off of an axe blade as Ryan stumbled back into the hallway, narrowly avoiding the cold metal. He stared a moment at the figure who had wielded the axe, and took in the main details as he fell back into the stairway banister.

The axe man wore a devilish grin, but his eyes were covered by a black cloth, connected to a black hood. _How original. _The thought had hardly crossed through his mind before Ryan dodged another swing and escaped back into the room. He went for his gun and aimed at the axe man. One bullet pierced the hooded man's skin as the shot reverberated through Ryan's ears. The man continued toward Ryan, who pulled the trigger once more before the axe head met up with Ryan's mouth, sending blood spraying out onto the already blood-engorged carpeting. His face met with the soft blue material of the floor as his head spun at an overwhelming speed. He tried to move, but an enormous weight held him to the floor.

Ryan was rolled onto his back, and he saw his gun lying just two feet from his extended grip. But two feet seemed like a mile when he had a possible concussion, and a psychotic serial killer was holding him to the ground. He felt the man's knuckles connect with his jaw as pain flashed through his skull once again. He reached out and grabbed onto the man's sleeves, kneed him in the side, and pushed him off.

Ryan took his chance of escape as he left the axe man in pain on the floor. He skidded to the wall, breathing heavily and attempting to keep his balance. His fear meter spiked as he watched the man rise to his feet. What was it going to take to keep him down? He heard frantic footsteps, light on the stairs. They must have heard the gun shots. The axe man paid no attention, though, as he lifted his axe and laughed softly, as though he were enjoying some sort of inside joke.

Ryan finally got his nerve and gathered his thought. "Why are you doing this?" he asked as the man walked toward him menacingly. The mouth was still upturned in a sinister smile. Ryan was slammed backward suddenly, getting the wind knocked from his body in the process, and he swung his fist out, hitting soft flesh. The axe man laughed and hit Ryan back, and the axe followed not a second later.

Shock and pain erupted in Ryan's head as sickening sound met his deaf ears. He saw a psychotic hooded man, blurs, then the ceiling...a faded, grey ceiling. He could not breathe, his chest felt so heavy, it hurt when he moved to inhale the assaulted air around him. A shaky hand went to his chest as he felt blunt metal mixed with warm blood.

"Ryan! Ryan?"

He heard Calleigh's voice somewhere, to his right, to his left...hell, he did not know where it came from, but he knew she was there. The tried to say something, to warn her, but he could not make a sound but for small wheezes as he tried to make out the words. He tasted blood in the back of his throat as the dark fluid obstructed his breathing, and a pool of blood began to form beneath his body. _Victim number seven...this is nice..._

Calleigh kneeled beside the CSI as she screamed back at Frank. "Go after him, he went out the window! I'll take care of Ryan," she said.

Ryan heard her call Control for an ambulance. Like that was going to help. He had a goddamned axe in his chest. He tried to take control of the situation as he moved a hand from his chest and reached out to Calleigh. Well, he could move, at least. "Ca...Cal..."

Calleigh held Ryan's blood-soaked hand as she listened to the few small, painful attempts he made toward speaking. "Ryan, please, don't say anything. Just stay still, okay? An ambulance is on its way, you'll be all right."

He coughed painfully and arched his back against the pain. Blood had soaked his blue t-shirt, turning it a dark red-violet. He stared up at the ceiling, trying to ignore the fact that he had an axe in his chest. He would have to get through this, he had too much left to do to die like this.

Calleigh squeezed Ryan's hand gently, attempting to gain back his attention. "Ryan, you're gonna be okay. I promise you'll be fine," she whispered, unsure if he could even hear what she was saying. "Please don't leave me, Ryan." She saw blood in his teeth, on his lips, on the floor, pouring from his chest. No-one could live through this, God, he was going to die. A tear escaped from Calleigh's eye as she set her free hand on the side of his face in a small effort to keep him with her.

God, he was so stupid. He had to leave to phone in the Hummer. He had a gun, and he could not protect himself against an axe-wielding maniac. What the hell was up with that..._thing, _anyways? Was it immortal, or something? His mind was foggy, he was not thinking straight, but for some reason, he _knew_ that he was not thinking straight. He had to get through this...he had to live, he could not let this kill him. He felt pressure on his cheek as he faced Calleigh's tear-streaked face. Why was she crying? _Um, maybe because I'm dying...duh._

"Cal?" he choked out. He tasted the blood as he said her name, knowing he would pay the price. He tasted it...felt it, smelled it, saw it, heard it rattling in his lungs. When was he going to bleed to death? Dying was taking far too long, did he really have that much blood?

"Ryan, please..." she whispered, trying to fight her sobs. She stroked his cheek as she heard sirens cry out, to save him, but they were taking so long.

"Jesus Christ..."

Calleigh spun quickly, startled by her colleague's voice. Frank stood in the doorway, breathless, covered in sweat, staring down at Ryan's blood-soaked feature.

"I couldn't get to him. I couldn't...I'm sorry, Calleigh," he said in huffs. "Is there anything I can do?"

He stood there awkwardly as Calleigh turned back to Ryan, thoughts racing through her mind faster than what she could grasp. Paramedics were racing up the stairs, were in the room, were pulling her away from him, she was screaming at them, she was crying to Frank, he was bleeding, he was dying...

Was he dying?

**Dun, dun, dun. Hate me. Now! Happy New Year to you all, even though it's a week past, and it smells like sauer kraut in here, and it stinks like vinegar-soaked cabbage. I'm not kidding. I love the Killers! PLEASE REVIEW...please.**


	4. Chapter 4

**Okay. Long time, no see, huh? Straight to it. I have a life, now. Sorry. Haha, so here's another chapter, I really have no idea how long this thing is going to be, but I know where it's going, and I know that it shouldn't be a long ride.**

**Chapter 4**

"...sh'up..."

Someone was talking, and it was annoying the crap out of him. He wanted to sleep. His chest hurt, his head hurt, hell, his body hurt. There was something scratching in his lungs, and he did not have the sense at the moment to wake up and find out what it was. He felt a hand on his side, his arm, then his cheek. He reached out and took a hold on it, forcing his eyes part way open. His vision was fuzzed together, blue to white, black to red.

"Ryan...can you hear me?"

Ryan turned his head forth and back, his glazed eyes slowly sweeping the room, not really absorbing his surroundings, but only doing it from habit. "Cal..." He could swear it was her, but was was she there? Where was 'there'?

"Ryan, look at me if you can hear me," Calleigh said quietly.

He rolled his neck back, pointing his chin to the ceiling as his eyes adjusted to the dim light. He let go of the hand he was holding and began to sit up, but two things stopped him from doing so: two sets of hands, and an amazing pain in his chest. He shot back to his back, keeping his head back, biting away the pain as his eyes rolled back. His hand went to his chest as pain whimpered from his throat.

"Ryan, try to relax," Horatio said quietly, setting a hand on his arm. "Calleigh, go find the nurse," he ordered softly. She nodded through a worried expression, and left the room. "Ryan. Ryan, you've been through a lot, now you have to rest."

Ryan heard Horatio. H was there, he was alive. Of course he was, why wouldn't he be? Something, there was something he was missing. Why was he there? God, he could not remember a thing, all but something about black...why couldn't he think? Axe. The axe killer, Jesus, he remembered it. H was supposed to have been next. That did not turn out as expected. Thankfully. He opened his eyes slowly, beginning to breath again, heavily, as sweat trickled down the side of his face as footsteps filled his ears. He relaxed his back and neck, letting his body fall back against the white sheets of his hospital bed. Hospital. Of course, that made since.

"He...H, he's com...coming for you," Ryan whispered, barely audible. His eyes watered from the pain in his throat as he spoke, but it was done, and so was he.

He was so tired, he just wanted the pain to go away. He relaxed slightly back onto the bed, letting the comfort settle a bit, and he opened his eyes to Horatio.

"Who..." he whispered. He was drifting again, back away from colors, into black and gray. "Who..." he said again, more promptly, this time as his eyebrows knitted together. He looked at Horatio with a sort of betrayed expression, like his boss was keeping something from him. "Who was it...who is he?"

The nurse stood silently behind Horatio with Calleigh by her side. She looked forlorn, as though she did not want to interrupt, but finally, she stepped in. "He's delusional, and he has a fever," she whispered to the two. "I wouldn't be bothered by anything he says, it's okay." She stepped forward and injected a needle into the IV connected to Ryan's arm.

"What're you doin'..." Ryan slurred.

"It'll make the pain go away, baby," she said soothingly. She smoothed out his hair gently, then left the room.

_Baby..._ Alex called him 'baby'. He missed Alex...

"Alex..." he whimpered.

"Ryan, Alex isn't here, right now. You'll get to see her later," Calleigh said quietly. "Just rest. Okay? Just rest."

Rest. He wanted rest.

Calleigh looked at him worriedly. He looked like a beaten puppy, she just wanted to cry.

"Okay," he whispered, his eyes already closed. Soon his breathing evened out and became almost inaudible aside from a small bubbling noise in his chest.

"What do we do?" Calleigh asked, turning to Horatio.

"We do what we were trained to do," Horatio said. "We catch this guy."

**Duh. Well, that chapter was short, I'm sorry, I've just had a lot to do lately, and my mom pretty much hates me, right now, and she's not even acting like mom, lately. She's bully. So please stick with me, and thank you, everyone of you who has read this, even if I don't know who you are, whoever you are, I am writing this story for you, specially for you. Thanks! Bie! :0D**


	5. Chapter 5

**I don't own blah blah...**

**Okey dokey, then. Chapter 5, let's see what I've got...**

**Chapter 5**

So tired...he didn't want to get up, not yet...

Where was he? He died? No...

Nurse comes in, checks his stats...

Horatio's standing over him, glasses in hand, Ryan laughs painfully...

It's night, or at least it looked that way in the room...

"I'm sorry..." Those were the first two words Ryan spoke since the incident with his nurse.

Alex cried, Natalia cried. Eric held Calleigh, Alex cried again, Alex held Ryan's hand, she cried.

"I'm so sorry..."

Eric entered HQ. A week. A week since Ryan's attack had occured, and they still had nothing. Except for Ryan's words, but he was currently out of commission. He sighed heavily and took a seat in the DNA lab. No-one was in there at the moment, and he didn't feel like being around anyone. He didn't even want to be at work today. He felt like he was letting Ryan down. Everyone felt that way, Eric knew that, but...

Why couldn't they get anything on this guy?

Horatio drove. Back to the scene of the original crime. They'd gotten off track with Ryan. He didn't believe the killer intended on getting caught, which meant that the killer probably wouldn't get caught, going by what they had uncovered about the man's personality so far. It was supposed to be a message. To him. To Horatio. And he was going to send a message back.

Alex sat in the morgue. Calleigh was there. They were quiet.

"I don't know if he's going to be okay," Calleigh said finally. "He's had a fever for three days. He'd finally gotten rid of it, and it just came right back, and he's getting worse. They aren't able to do much else. I'm scared."

"He'll be okay, honey, you just see. He'll be okay," Alex reassured her.

"I...I went through this with Tim, and then John...I don't know what I'd do if it happened again. When Ryan first came here, he was the little runt outcast. I really didn't like him, I didn't want to like him. And look how he turned out. He's a really good guy, he didn't deserve this, Alex."

Alex leaned over and layed a hand on Calleigh's. "He will be all right," she said again, catching Calleigh in the eye. "He will."

"I'm just scared," Calleigh repeated. She took a deep breath and smiled. "None of us have been doing anything all morning. We won't get this guy going on like this."

They stood and Alex walked Calleigh to the door. They said good-bye, and Alex stalked back to the table. She hated cases like these. Days like these, she just didn't want to get up. She grabbed the edge of the sheet and placed it back over the body. Victim number fifteen.

Natalia was there. She smiled. Ryan smiled back.

**Choppy little bits there, I'm trying out a flowing/hacked type of writing, pardon the pun. Please review on the chapters they're the things that help me get the next chapter up. Bie! :0D**


	6. Chapter 6

**My internet got turned off, that's why it's taken so long to get this up. Anyways...**

**Chapter 6**

Ryan was sitting up in the bed when Horatio walked in.

"Mr. Wolfe, you look like you're feeling better," Horatio spoke quietly, standing in the doorway.

"Actually, I'm...not really feeling anything..." he whispered, his eyes half closed. "They put me on...some....pain meds and um...crap...." He closed his eyes, laying his head back on his pillow. "I'm...I can't think well now..."

Horatio grinned. "I understand. It's good to see you doing so well, Ryan. You scared us for a while."

"Did...um...did you get him?" Ryan said, barely audible. He opened his eyes slightly, looking at Horatio.

"We did not," Horatio said, looking out the window. "But we will. I promise you we will."

"He's coming after you....next...he said," Ryan breathed heavily. He closed his eyes again, eyebrows knitting together.

"It's okay. Get some rest. I'll come by again later," Horatio said. Ryan nodded, and Horatio stood for another second, then left the room.

**************

Horatio entered the waiting room slowly, feeling slightly better, but still had a small nagging in the pit of his stomach.

Eric met him in the area, half out of breath.

"Eric?" Horatio asked, rightfully curious.

"We think we found him."

**************

Calleigh entered the interrogation room, escorting Ryan Roth to a chair in front of a glass table. Frank followed behind with a grim, irritated look on his face.

Calleigh sat across from Roth and pulled a file from under her arm, laying it open on the table before him. He wasn't looking at the pictures splayed out in front of him, nor the angry glares from both the detectives. He stared out the window for a long time while silence hung in the air.

Finally, Frank stepped in. "You know who that is. You know who all of them are," he said matter-of-factly.

Roth looked up at Frank with glossy eyes. It was a quiet moment before he looked down at the pictures and flipped through them slowly, one by one. He nodded.

"What?" Calleigh said quietly, then spoke up. "What does that mean?"

"I never killed him," Roth said. "Is that why he's not here?"

Calleigh looked up at Frank, then back to Roth. "Who?"

"The CSI from the last scene. He's still alive? Everyone else is in here," he stated calmly, slightly curious. "I'll be damned..." he whispered to himself.

Calleigh nodded slightly, then stood and left the room. Frank took a look at Roth, then followed her out. He nodded to the officer outside the room to take Roth into custody.

"Calleigh! Wait up!" Frank yelled after her, jogging slightly to keep up. He barely made it into the elevator before its doors closed. Calleigh slammed on the ground floor, staring straight ahead, and her eyes watered red.

Frank felt awkward, what the hell was he supposed to do? "Ryan'll be okay, Calleigh. I know he will be, and we got this guy Roth in our hands, he's going down for those murders," he said softly.

"I know..." she choked out. "But why did he....?"

"I know, it's bothering me, too, but everyone has their reasons."

"He just walked right in here. Just turned himself in, just like that. Why?" she asked, finally turning to him, her lips trembling. She looked away, covering her mouth with a small hand.

"Cal..." Frank said, uncomfortable. He set a hand on her back. "It's all right to cry, okay? You know I'm not gonna judge you, what's there to judge. Why don't you go on to the hospital, I'll talk to Horatio, he's on his way here, anyways."

Calleigh turned back around and smiled sadly. "Thanks, Frank," she said. She looked at the dorrs as the bell chimed and they opened. "I..will do that..."

Frank stayed in the elevator and watched her walk slowly to the doors. As she left the building, she turned around and gave him a small thank-you smile.

Well, he'd done something good today.

**Okay, so my boyfriend just broke up with me, and that put me in the mood for some good old-fashioned fanfictions. Sorry for the ginormous delay, but I should be posting more often than not, so please enjoy it while you can!**


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